WARRNAMBOOL Seahawks have kept their unbeaten record intact after emerging from a testing road trip to Shepparton with a 10-point triumph.
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The Seahawks improved their Big V division one men’s return to 3-0 with the 83-73 win at Shepparton Sports Stadium.
American import Alex Starling was a clear best on court, dropping 25 points and hauling 16 rebounds to post his third-consecutive double-double.
He was ably backed up by emerging tall Curtis Ryan (13 points, nine rebounds) and Tim Gainey (13 points, six rebounds).
Josh Dean and the evergreen Matt Alexander were also instrumental curbing the influence of Gators Matthew Bartlett and John Lewis respectively.
Warrnambool coach Bobby Cunningham said he was rapt with how his men held their nerve late in the contest.
They led by as much as 11 when a Starling dunk 30 seconds into the last term made the score 60-49, but Shepparton would not relent.
The Gators cut the margin to two with a 12-3 run. But their inability to seize the lead would prove damaging.
The key moment came with three minutes, 43 seconds left and the score 66-61. Gator Dylan Wayman missed a three-point attempt from near the baseline.
Ryan grabbed the rebound and the ball finished with Gainey, who sunk his attempt from long range. The margin was eight and the Seahawks were home.
“We skipped away after that,” Cunningham said. “If that shot went down, whose to say they don’t get their tails up and go on with it.
“The game was played in good spirits, hotly contested, athletic plays. The ref let both sides play, no complaints at all.”
Cunningham said the match was a good exhibition of country Victorian basketball.
He said the Gators had similarities to the Seahawks of two years ago.
“It was Tim Gainey, an import and a whole bunch of teenagers a couple of years ago, and our guys have gotten a bit stronger (since then),” he said.
He was full of praise for Starling, who played less than 48 hours after learning his long-time friend Christopher Guthrie had died in a motorcycle accident.
“In my last five or six years, he’s definitely one of the better imports,” he said.
“It’d be disrespectful to say he’s better than Cam (Mitchell), he’s better than Brandon (Macklin), he’s better than Sai’Quon (Stone).
“But he brings inside and outside to the team. Sai’Quon was just outside, Cam and Brandon were inside. This guy can do both.
“It’s refreshing we’ve got someone who we can go to when we need a bucket. He takes the pressure off Tim, who had to do that last year.”
The Seahawks meet Southern Peninsula Sharks at Rosebud after the Easter break. A trip to Mildura follows seven days later.
“You go into every season saying if you can win 80 or 90 per cent of your games at home and split the road, you’re a chance to play finals,” Cunningham said. “So far we’re off to a good start but that’s all it is, a good start.”
Meanwhile, the Seahawks’ youth men’s outfit suffered its heaviest loss of the season, going down to Western Port Steelers 90-57 at The Steelerdome in Somerville.
Jacob Sobey led the scoring with 13 points, supported by Jeremy Bolden (11) and Jake O’Flynn (10). But they had no answer for Steeler Mitchell Chasemore, who sunk 29.